H1B Visa Holders Get Temporary Relief as US to Implement New Deportation Policy From October 1

Mumbai, September 28: From October 1, it is going to be quite tough for people residing in the US without proper documents. The US will start implementing a new rule that allows the initiation of their deportation process. This is expected to affect all those whose legal status to stay in the US has expired for various reasons like denial of visa extension or change in status. According to a Business Today report, the federal agency has said that this policy will not be implemented with respect to employment-based petitions and humanitarian applications and petitions, which comes as a huge relief for H1B visa-holders for the time being. Indians Maximum Among H1B Visa Applicants, Denial by the US at All-Time High, Finds American Think-Tank.

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which oversees lawful immigration to the United States will start taking an incremental approach to implement the new rule. To begin with, they will issue notices to appear (NTA) to people whose applications regarding visa extension or changes in status have been denied. However, there has been no clarity on whether H4 visa holders (dependents of H1B) can be served an NTA.

The federal agency will continue to prioritise cases of individuals with criminal records, fraud, or national security concerns. "There has been no change to the current processes for issuing NTAs on these case types, and USCIS will continue to use its discretion in issuing NTAs for these cases," it said.

This new law will come as a big blow to Indians because according to a Pew Research Centre study in 2016, it claims that there could be as many as five lakh undocumented Indians in the country. These are people who either overstayed their visas or entered US borders illegally. This figure has surprisingly jumped nearly 43 percent since 2009.